Scientists Outfit A Drone With A Claw, Because Why Not?

March 15, 2013

Drones are not exactly frightening. The little quadcopters that we’ve seen delivering pizza and tacos are actually kind of cute as far as heartless robots go.

Well, those cute little quadcopters have not been turned into heartless killers thanks to a simple additions by researchers at University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Lab. They thought it would be a good idea to attach a claw onto the copter so that it can dive down and grab objects without ever slowing down. The maneuver was inspired by how eagles hunt by diving to grab prey.

What’s terrifying about this particular robot is that it can grab objects while moving at three meters per second. If it ever becomes big enough, it could pick you up off the ground before you even realize you’ve been captured by the robotic equivalent of a pterodactyl.